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A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill School
Volume 74, Issue 2
May 31, 2025
Congratulations and Thank You Class of 2025!
By Executive Staff Panel Staff The Belmont Hill community wishes to congratulate you all, Class of 2025! Throughout this year, you have led the way. Your class unity has shown all the younger guys how to lead
within the Belmont Hill community. The Panel Executive Staff has dedicated this issue to the Class of 2025. Throughout this issue, our focus on graduating seniors can be found in a News article highlighting the oneof-a-kind Senior Field Day, an Arts article summarizing the process of cre-
ating this year’s Senior-Directed Play, and two Sports articles that cover Athlete of the Issue Jordan Summers ’25 and this year’s many recruited athletes. In the classroom, you have excelled in numerous ways. On the fields, the courts, and the river, you have shown of your athleticism and pride in
being Belmont Hill students. In extracurriculars and community service, you have shown what it means to be true Belmont Hill leaders. Seniors, we hope you enjoy your special day alongside your family, loved ones, and, most importantly, fellow Belmont Hill brothers! You all deserve it. Congratulations! ☐
Mr. Sweeney Departs After 32 Amazing Years of Service By Eli Norden ’26 Panel Staff Since September of 1992, Mr. Sweeney ’83 has been a cornerstone of the Belmont Hill community. From his classroom on the second floor of the Eliot Building, where he has taught four classes and led a middle school advisory for his entire career, to the fourth football field, hockey rink, and fourth baseball field, Mr. Sweeney has left his mark on generations of Belmont Hill students, faculty, and families. Griffin Vail ’26 reflected that “Mr. Sweeney really shaped my Belmont Hill experience.” Mr. Sweeney is the Belmont Hill role model, serving as a defining reason why this school has, for the last 32 years, produced so many young men unafraid to jump into challenges head-first. Mr. Sweeney’s Belmont Hill journey began before he was even born. In the summer of 1964, months before his birth, a Belmont Hill student visited his childhood home in Reading, MA to talk with his older brothers. This visit resulted in Mr. Sweeney’s older brother, Paul ’66,
Mr. Sweeney Teaching His Math Class enrolling as a junior the following year, 1965. The year after Paul graduated, Mr. Sweeney’s brother, Pat ’74, began at Belmont Hill. More Sweeney brothers (yes, Mr. Sweeney is the youngest of ten) took another path, enrolling at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. For fresh-
Look Inside The Panel
Page 2: Departing Faculty: Mr. Feldman & Mr. Sweeney Brandon Li ’26, Jaiden Lee ’26, and Eli Norden ’26 recount the significant impact that Mr. Feldman and Mr. Sweeney have had on the BH Community.
Page 8: Senior-Directed Play Liam MacLean ’27 details the senior directed play, highlighting the amazing performance put on by the students. The play was wonderfully received by the faculty and parents.
Page 6-7: Prize Day Lists The centerspread highlights the Belmont Hill students who won an award at Prize Day. The list truly shows the talented nature of the student body.
Page 11: Crew Team Sweeps NEIRAs Patrick Snail ’28 describes the pure dominance the crew team had in their NEIRA regatta last weekend. The team swept the field: an undefeated season.
Adam Richins man year, Mr Sweeney applied to the two schools his brothers attended, but only Belmont Hill accepted him. “Thank God!” he exclaimed as he reflected on this moment. However, Mr. Sweeney thought he would be a boarding student, and because of this, he felt some disappoint-
ment that St. Paul’s did not accept him. Still, Mr. Sweeney was ready to step into Belmont Hill: “I became a bit of an ‘I always wanted to be here kind of guy.’” Mr. Sweeney has endless stories of his time as a student at Belmont Hill. Namely, he said, sports were always the aspect of campus life that stood out to him most. He vividly recalls his Form III sports seasons, including an undefeated football season with Mr. Martin ’65, a hockey season coached by Mr. Gallagher in which the team let up zero goals, and a season with all wins except for a single tie in baseball under Mr. Sherman. Later, as a varsity baseball and football star, Mr. Sweeney stepped back from varsity sports in the winter, playing on JV hockey. He humbly reflected, “it was so nice to watch my friends shine.” He also loved his teachers and their sense of humor, and quoted his freshman year report card from his English teacher, Mr. Hawley: “Chris will achieve great success if he could only learn to spell it.” Mr. Sweeney joked, “And that’s it. That was the whole thing he wrote.” See FACULTY page 2
Letter from the Editor
Welcome to Issue 2 of Volume 74! This issue marks the final one of the year as our special commencement edition. Our news and arts sections spot light the graduating senior class of 2025, numerous departing faculty members, notable musical performances, and much more. Our sports section features Jordan Summers ’25 as our Athlete of the Issue and articles focusing on Mr. Bradley’s induction into the MA Wrestling Hall of Fame as well as major championship wins from various BH spring teams. In this issue’s centerspread,
we’ve compiled a list of all of this year’s prize winners who were honored on Prize Day, while the back-page features the college destinations of the 2025 senior class. We’d like to thank all of the writers, editors, faculty, and staff who helped make this final issue of the year possible. Sending the year off with this paper, we are proud to celebrate the hard work of the students and faculty in all areas of school life this past year. Lastly, we give a huge congratulations to the Class of ’25! We hope all readers enjoy this last issue!